Category: CANA News

Jacob Duffy and Michael Rae grabbed two late wickets to put New Zealand in firm control of the second Test after a courageous effort by the West Indies’ bowlers brought them back into contention on Thursday’s second day.

Rae produced a brilliant inswinger to bowl John Campbell, while Duffy trapped nightwatchman Anderson Phillip plumb in front, as the Windies ended the day perilously placed on 32 for two, still 41 runs in arrears.

Earlier, led by pacer Anderson Phillip, the Windies did well to bowl out the home side for 278 and restrict their first innings lead to a manageable 73, after they had looked poised to score much more.

Resuming from their overnight total of 24 without loss, New Zealand added 16 more runs before Kemar Roach produced a gem of a delivery that beat captain Tom Latham’s inside edge and knocked over his off stump.

Devon Conway and Kane Williamson then frustrated the visitors’ bowling attack for close to an hour and a half during a 67-run partnership.

The Windies should have had the wicket of Conway when he was 29 and the score 47 for one, but Brandon King could not hold on to a sharp chance at leg slip off the bowling of Jayden Seales.

Conway seized the opportunity and eventually reached his 13th Test half century off 90 balls just before the lunch break by driving Ojay Shields to deep backward point and collecting two runs.

The pair looked set to carry their side to the break, but Phillip rattled Williamson’s stumps after he scored a brisk 37 off 46 balls with lunch in sight.

West Indies grabbed the momentum immediately after play resumed, with Roach having new batsman Rachin Ravindra caught behind for five, while Justin Greaves was fortunate to dismiss Conway for 60 after he edged a loose ball down the leg side behind to wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach, to leave New Zealand 117 for four.

However, Mitchell Hay and Daryl Mitchell came to their side’s rescue in a partnership of 73 that changed the complexion of the match.

Phillip got the breakthrough when he had Mitchell caught down the legside by Imlach for 25, with the score 190 for five.

Debutant Hay brought up his maiden Test half century by driving Shields for two boundaries as New Zealand went to tea at 200 for five, just five runs adrift of the Windies’ first innings total.

They duly passed that score and looked set on establishing a big lead but were stifled by some pinpoint bowling.

Hay pulled Shields for two consecutive boundaries but picked out Roach at fine leg attempting a third to be out caught for 61, with the score 213 for six.

Glenn Phillips scored 18 before slogging off spinner Roston Chase into the hands of Phillip stationed at deep midwicket, while Phillip returned to dismiss Duffy for 11 and Jayden Seales wrapped up the innings by bowling Rae, to see New Zealand lose their last five wickets for 65 runs.

Phillip was the Windies’ best bowler with 3-70, while Roach took 2-43.

Needing to navigate the final half hour of play, the West Indies started nervously, with Duffy flooring a tough return catch offered by Brandon King before he had scored.

Campbell executed two pull shots and an audacious cover drive off the bowling of Zak Foulkes in the fourth over, and King also hit him for two consecutive boundaries in his next over to see them motor to 24 without loss after six overs.

But the introduction of Rae proved to be decisive, as he knocked over Campbell’s off stump with his fifth delivery as the batsman shouldered arms to an inswinger.

The decision to send in Phillip as a nightwatchman backfired, with Duffy having him lbw after facing just three balls.

Phillip was initially given not out by the umpire, but a review showed the ball would have cannoned into off stump.

New Zealand requires 56 runs for victory after dismissing West Indies for 128 on the third day of the second Test here at the Basin Reserve on Friday.

WEST INDIES 205 and 128 in 46.2 overs (Kavem Hodge 35, Justin Greaves 25, Brandon King 22, John Campbell 14; Jacob Duffy 5-38, Michael Rae 3-45).

NEW ZEALAND 278.

New Zealand lead West Indies by 73 runs after being dismissed for 278 after tea on the second day of the second Test here at the Basin Reserve on Thursday.

WEST INDIES 205.

NEW ZEALAND 278 in 74.4 overs (Devon Conway 60, Mitchell Hay 52 not out, Kane Williamson 37, Daryl Mitchell 25, Zak Foulkes 23 not out, Glenn Phillips 18, Michael Rae, 13, Jacob Duffy 11, Tom Latham 11; Anderson Phillip 3-70, Kemar Roach 2-43).

Scoreboard of the third day of the second Test between New Zealand and West Indies here at the Basin Reserve on Friday.

WEST INDIES 1st innings 205

NEW ZEALAND 1st innings 278

WEST INDIES 2nd innings

(overnight 32 for two)

John Campbell b Rae 14

Brandon King not out 15

Anderson Phillip lbw b Duffy 0

Kavem Hodge c sub (Young) b Foulkes 35

Shai Hope c and b Rae 5

*Roston Chase c +Hay b Duffy 2

Justin Greaves lbw b Duffy 25

+Tevin Imlach c Latham b Duffy 5

Kemar Roach not out 5

Jayden Seales c +Hay b Rae 0

Ojay Shields c Rae b Duffy 9

Extras (lb2, nb1, w3) 6

TOTAL (all out; 46.2 overs) 128

Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-25, 3-50, 4-58, 5-70, 6-88, 7-113, 8-114, 9-119, 10-128.

Bowling: Duffy 17.2-4-38-5, Foulkes 12-2-39-1, Rae 12-3-45-3, Mitchell 5-1-4-0.

NEW ZEALAND 2nd innings

*Tom Latham c Hodge b Phillip 9

Devon Conway not out 28

Kane Williamson not out 16

Extras (nb2, w2) 4

TOTAL (one wicket; 10 overs) 57

Did not bat: Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, +Mitchell Hay, Glenn Phillips, Zak Foulkes, Blair Tickner, Jacob Duff, Michael Rae.

Fall of wickets: 1-26.

Bowling: Roach 3-0-8-0, Seales 3-0-14-0, Shields 2-0-18-0, Phillip 2-0-17-1.

Toss: New Zealand elected to field.

Result: New Zealand defeated West Indies by nine wickets to lead the three-match series 1-0.

Player-of-the-Match: Jacob Duffy.

Umpires: Paul Reiffel, Alladhuddien Paleker.

TV Umpire: Alex Wharf.

Reserve Umpire: Cory Black.

Match Referee: Javagal Srinath.

New Zealand will not have the services of Blair Tickner with either bat or ball for the remainder of the second Test match against West Indies.

According to a statement from New Zealand Cricket, Tickner, who injured his shoulder while fielding on Wednesday’s opening day, is unlikely to take any further part in the match. He was the Kiwis’ best bowler in the first innings, finishing with figures of 4-32 from his 16 overs, but had to be stretched off in obvious discomfort after taking a tumble while trying to stop a boundary at fine leg.

‘Black Caps pace bowler Blair Tickner will not bowl or field and is unlikely to bat for the remainder of the second Test in Wellington, after dislocating his shoulder while diving to stop a boundary on day one,’ New Zealand said via a statement on Thursday.

‘Tickner, who was taken to hospital for treatment last night, will join the squad at the ground today as he awaits further specialist assessment to determine his return to play.’

Tickner is the latest New Zealand fast bowler to be ruled out due to injury.

Fellow pacers Matt Henry and Nathan Smith sustained injuries in the opening Test, while other fast bowling options Will O’Rourke, Ben Sears and Matt Fisher are also injured or coming back from injury.

Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, has been appointed Chair of a new high-level Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) committee that will craft a regional strategy to manage the supply side of tourism and retain a larger share of tourism earnings within Caribbean economies.

The CTO said that the committee will focus on deepening linkages between tourism and sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing an

It will include representatives from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Edmund Bartlett

‘This committee is about moving from leakage to linkage,’ Bartlett said.

‘Our goal is to ensure that more of every tourism dollar stays in the Caribbean, builds our businesses, creates quality jobs for our people and strengthens the resilience of our economies. By working together as a region, we can secure a bigger share of the value that tourism generates in our own space,’ he added.

Barbados’ Minister of Tourism and International Transport and CTO chairman, Ian Gooding-Edghill, said the appointment of Bartlett to chair the committee concretises the decision taken by the CTO member countries at the September 30 Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism meeting to expand the region’s focus on building stronger linkages in the tourism sector.

‘As Jamaica has been a leading proponent of the supply side of tourism and the retention of revenues from the sector, the Council of Ministers and Commissioners unanimously agreed that Minister Bartlett should lead this regional initiative..

‘We are pleased that the Minister has accepted yet another challenge to further advance the development of the region’s tourism sector, as the CTO’s Council reaffirms its commitment to pursuing this strategy,’ Gooding-Edghill, said.

To ensure a strong technical foundation for the initiative, Bartlett also offered the services of Professor Lloyd Waller, Executive Director of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), to develop the Terms of Reference (TOR) to guide the committee’s work.

He further updated ministers on Jamaica’s recovery following Hurricane Melissa, noting that the country is on track to have approximately 70 per cent of its hotel rooms back in operation by January, supported by intensive repair and renovation works, and that capacity at Jamaica’s three international airports is already above 85 per cent of pre-Melissa levels as airlift is restored for the winter season.

Bartlett expressed deep appreciation for the strong show of solidarity from sister Caribbean countries, including the Turks and Caicos Islands, the US Virgin Islands, The Bahamas and others, emphasising that regional support has been vital in accelerating Jamaica’s recovery and protecting tourism jobs.

The CTO Secretariat has also been mandated to undertake exploratory work on the carrying capacities of member states, providing critical data to support the committee’s recommendations and to underpin sustainable, resilient tourism growth across the region.

-The leader of the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP), Allen Chastanet, Wednesday said he intends to file an appeal against a High Court ruling that he defamed the former minister of housing, Richard Frederick, regarding the sale of government owned lands in St. Lucia.

The High Court ordered Chastanet to pay EC$60,000 in damages, costs and imposed a perpetual injunction that he never to repeat the allegations.

Allen Chastanet

But in a statement, Chastanet said that he acknowledges and ‘respect the decision delivered today by the Court in the defamation claim brought by Richard Frederick against me.

‘At this time, we are still awaiting the full written judgment and have thus far only received the Judge’s oral summary of the decision. However, based on the summary provided, we are of the firm view that there are very strong and compelling grounds of appeal. Once the full judgment is reviewed, we will proceed to take the necessary steps to appeal the decision.

‘We remain confident in our position and in the appellate process, and we will continue to address this matter with the utmost diligence and respect for the Court,’ Chastanet wrote.

Frederick in a post on Facebook said ‘when it rains it pours’ and welcomed the court ruling, adding that the ‘Speaker Claudius Francis had it ON POINT in the House, when his ruling falls squarely within learned judge’s findings’.

Francis had ruled against Chastanet’s claim that the sale of the 2.48 acres of the land amounted to corruption, saying that while the sale of the seafront Bananes land may have been below the valuation price, it could have been bad business and not necessarily corruption.

But after the ruling Chastanet left the parliament building and later repeated the allegation on a radio programme, resulting in the law suit by Frederick.

New Zealand trail West Indies by 93 runs with eight wickets remaining after reaching 112 for two at lunch on the second day of the second Test here at the Basin Reserve on Thursday.

WEST INDIES 205.

NEW ZEALAND 112-2 in 34 overs (Devon Conway 55 not out, Kane Williamson 37, Tom Latham 11).

Prime Minister Philip Davis has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to defending The Bahamas’ borders, safeguarding national sovereignty, and dismantling transnational smuggling network, providing fines for up to US$300,000.

He told Parliament that the Smuggling of Migrants Bill, 2025, directly targets criminal networks that profit from human suffering, modernising the country’s legal framework to make it easier to prosecute smugglers and impose harsher penalties.

‘This Bill makes it easier to prosecute smugglers, and punishes them with tougher penalties than ever before.This is how we protect Bahamian communities. This is how we rule our waters. And this is how we reduce the number of migrants who enter our country illegally,’ But the main opposition Free National Movement (FNM) says it will repeal the legislation if if the party wins the next general election.

FNM and Opposition Leader, Michael Pintard, said the bill, which was passed in the Parliament, will not effect a real crackdown on illegal migrants or the smugglers who exploit them for financial gain.

‘The Smuggling of Migrants Bill will soon become the law of the land,’ Pintard said in a statement.

‘When the Free National Movement forms the next government, it will be repealed. The reason is simple: The bill is a far cry from a real crackdown on illegal entrants, as well as the smugglers and financiers who exploit them for profit,’ he added.

The government said that the Bill defines the smuggling of migrants as a distinct criminal offence and ensures that anyone involved in planning, financing, transporting, or harbouring migrants can be prosecuted – whether the smuggling operation begins, passes through, or ends in The Bahamas.

Under the new legislation, offenders face fines up to US$300,000 and prison terms up to 15 years and Bahamian jurisdiction is extended to prosecute smuggling-related offences committed outside national waters or on foreign-flagged vessels.

It also provides for the confiscation of vehicles, vessels, and other assets used in connection with the crime.

Prime Minister Davis said the legislation builds on his government’s record of strengthening the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) and Immigration Department through new patrol vessels, drones, radar systems, upgraded communications, and expanded manpower.

Since 2022, more than 13,000 migrants have been repatriated – the highest number in Bahamian history – while detention centre populations have dropped significantly due to faster processing and repatriation.

Prime Minister Davis said that The Bahamas will continue to balance compassion with control, upholding the rule of law while refusing to yield to external pressure.

‘Our first duty is to our citizens and to those who are here lawfully. We have refused to sign declarations that would commit us to accepting more migrants. We have refused calls to suspend deportations to Haiti. And we will continue to act in the best interests of The Bahamas.’

The Prime Minister said the Bill clarifies the legal distinction between human smuggling and immigration offences, ensuring that humanitarian treatment of migrants is upheld while preserving the nation’s right to enforce its laws.

‘Being a victim of smuggling does not grant a right to remain in The Bahamas,’ he said. ‘Our asylum laws remain unchanged, and anyone entering illegally will be repatriated.’

Prime Minister Davis warned that Bahamians who knowingly assist smugglers, including those who rent properties, provide transport, or lend vessels for illegal activity, will face serious consequences under the new law.

‘If you are participating in or supporting human smuggling in any way, you will find yourself within the crosshairs of our justice system. This is a turning point. What might have felt like a side income will now carry consequences that can change your life.’

He praised the work of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Department of Immigration, and the Ministries of National Security and Immigration and National Insurance for their leadership and coordination.

‘We will not allow criminal networks to use our islands as corridors. We will not allow lawlessness to challenge the safety and stability of our communities. We will not tolerate the exploitation of vulnerable people. And we will not compromise our sovereignty,’ Prime Minister Davis said.

Addressing would be migrants directly, he said ‘I say do not place your lives, or the lives of your children, in the hands of criminals.

‘They will take your money, put you on an overloaded vessel, and send you into open water with little regard for whether you survive. If you come here in breach of our laws, you will be returned to your country of origin.’

During debate, National Security Minister, Wayne Munroe said Section 11, which provided immunity from prosecution to smuggled migrants, would be deleted, saying it would not have changed anything about the way that migrants who enter The Bahamas illegally are processed.

‘We have heard the outcry, and this is a responsive government,’ Munroe said, adding ‘people had a problem with there being immunity and it’s being removed. When I examined it, I could not see the importance of it’.

But Pintard said the government’s amendments to the bill cannot fix what is wrong with the legislation.

‘The bill continues to treat smuggled migrants as victims in a general sense, even where those individuals willingly paid smugglers and chose to enter The Bahamas illegally. That is not consistent with international practice.’

He said that human trafficking involves coercion and victims of this crime deserve protection.

Pintard said human smuggling ‘involves consent’ adding that migrants in this category ‘voluntarily join illegal networks to evade lawful entry’.

‘Our stance on this is clear: persons who voluntarily participate in smuggling should face penalties, not receive the protections reserved for genuine trafficking victims,’ Pintard said, noting that the bill places operational authority, including temporary residence decisions for smuggled migrants, under the minister of national security rather than the minister of immigration, which he said ‘makes no sense’.

Pintard was referring to a clause which states that the minister of national security ‘may grant a temporary residence permit to a smuggled migrant in order to facilitate the investigation or prosecution of an offence’ under the new bill ‘or to facilitate the migrant’s recovery or rehabilitation’.

Pintard dismissed the government’s statement that the Smuggling of Migrants Bill is necessary to adhere to international treaties.

‘That is simply not true. International protocols do not require The Bahamas to soften penalties for smuggling or blur the line between trafficking and smuggling. They do not override Parliament’s duty to protect the peace and security of our country,’ the Opposition Leader said.

West Indies were dismissed for 205 after tea against New Zealand on the opening day of the second Test here at the Basin Reserve on Wednesday.

WEST INDIES 205 in 75 overs (Shai Hope 48, John Campbell 44, Brandon King 33, Roston Chase 29, Tevin Imlach 16, Justin Greaves 13; Blair Tickner 4-32, Michael Rae 3-67).